The Discovery of Chicago Tour June 13, 2009

Friends of the Chicago Portage

Sponsored by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County

...honoring Chicago’s origins

Early in the fall of 1673, Louis Jolliet and Pere Marquette portaged their two canoes out of old Mud Lake over “half a league” to the South Branch of the Chicago River and became the first to record their passage though the Chicago Portage. Now you can follow the route of Jolliet and Marquette as they passed through a swamp that became our city.

Friends of the Chicago Portage invite you to explore Chicago’s birth story on the “Discovery of Chicago” bus tour on Saturday, June 13, 2009.

The tour will begin at 10am at the monumental statue of the Explorer and Missionary in Portage Woods Forest Preserve in Lyons, IL. Following a brief look at the last remnant of historic Portage Creek, the tour will board a deluxe air conditioned mini-bus to visit the places Joliet and Marquette carried their boats a “half a league” across a continental divide.

The tour will continue downtown to visit the Centennial Fountain and explore its symbolic portrayal of the Chicago Portage. We’ll stop at the location of the first trading post in Chicago and get as close as the public can get to the site of DuSable & Kinzie's settlement.

After a lunch break, the tour will follow the development of Chicago following Marquette's return to Chicago in 1674. Finally we will visit the original terminus of the I&M Canal before returning to Portage Woods Forest Preserve. The tour will conclude before 3:00 P.M.

The cost of the tour is $40.00 for adults, $35.00 for students and seniors. Reservations are required. To make a reservation visit www.chicagoportage.org or call Jeff Carter at 312-771-6855.

This is a must see tour for historians, educators, tour guides, and anyone who communicates the stories of Chicago to others. Stand in the places where Chicago was born! Learn what a “half a league” is! Make your reservation for this exciting bus tour today.

Friends of the Chicago Portage promotes the historic interpretation, ecological restoration and appropriate development of the Chicago Portage National Historic Site through volunteer advocacy, public events and other projects that raise public awareness of the site’s history and significance.

www.chicagoportage.org

Official Website: http://www.chicagoportage.org